Just Awestruck Still

about how much money we raised with that yard sale. Wish I had pictures of the yard as we started... but we were crazy busy for about 7 hours straight! No chance to take a picture!

And, in addition to the $1515 we made, we sold another piece of furniture for $100 last night. With a potential $300ish worth of furniture to sell on craigslist, too! It's just amazing!!

I have just over 8 weeks left until we start stims. I guess about 3 weeks until I start the pill. We also heading to a Fertility Seminar in Jacksonville that our clinic will be at & they are raffling away 3 free IVF cycles. I saw raffling, but they are giving them away... & you don't have to submit an application & become approved & such like the last one we went to. We'll be going with some friends of ours that have been trying a bit longer than we have. I know it's selfish, but I do hope we win it! :) We could save the money we've already saved for the baby + starting to pay the mortgage off! That's our next financial step. But, either way, we WILL have the rest of the money needed by the end of November if nothing else sells.

That's so relieving to know.

Also, got some donated meds that I am so appreciative for from JJ + a book called "Nurting Yourself Through IVF". I have enjoyed reading it so far & it's nice to have an idea of the different emotions I'll be going through when we get further in the cycle.

Other than all that, not too much is happening here. Still plugging through work, through school, got some Christmas shopping done over the weekend. My ultimate goal would be to be DONE by the end of Black Friday. I don't want to have anything extra on my plate with the IVF cycle. I'll have enough to handle, so no parties planned, chores/shopping to do, etc etc. Just trying to get as much taken care of BEFORE we start as I can.

Hope everyone is doing well out there!

Shout out to Sarah, who just got her BFP! :)

Quick Note

Net profit for yard sale: $1500 towards Fertility Fund!

WOOHOO! It was a long weekend preparing for this & I'll write more later! :)

Already Change of Plan...

Just spoke with the IVF nurse & found out that the cycle will not be able to start of Dec4 like they initially told me. Which kind of throws a wrench in the plans. Based on the dates, it could very much jeopardize my final exam on Dec10 in the evening.

I just wanna cry.

Oh, & the beta would be on Christmas Eve. Talked about ruining Christmas. Really. I know, I know... I should be thinking more positively, but I'm not. I'm trying to protect myself as much as possible.

I'm sure we'll do it then, though. I'd hate to have to wait until Dec24 to start.

Gotta maybe bounce this off of the director of nursing at school. Mom mentioned that maybe they could allow me to take the final exam earlier.

Worst case scenario would be the retrieval on the 10th, then zooming back to Tallahassee to take my final exam that evening. If I do well enough on all of the other points, I can probably take that chance. I would just be druggied up.

Also planned on having the week of Christmas off since that would be the week following my transfer to do my own bedrest. This would put bedrest the week prior. But, being at work the week of Christmas would be stressful anyhow.

Whoa... just got a lot to absorb, take in, mull over, & then decide on. I'm too upset to call Senor Infertile Turtle because I know I'd just cry & cry & cry.

Would I even want to find out on Christmas Eve? Or wait until afterwards?

IVF Cost

Jan2008: ** First appointment with RE in Tallahassee $225
Mar2008: ** SA @ Jax $95 (plus mileage)
May2008: ** Fertility Seminar in Orlando FREE (plus mileage)
Oct2008: ** Fertility Seminar in Jax FREE (plus mileage)
** Birth control Rx #1 $10
** ABX Rx #1 $1.74
** IVF Consult + mock transfer in Jax $435 (plus mileage)
** First payment for IVF $4200

One More, Then BCP

Well, cycle day 2 here. My next one, I will be starting the Pill for IVF in December. Kinda exciting.

Also raised some more money for the yard sale. It's on Saturday & we've got $201 towards it so far. With the big items & estimated smaller items, I think we may sell $800 worth that day... which would bring the TOTAL to over $1000. Freaking awesome, huh?

We definitely have a big & busy weekend ahead of us, though. Thursday night will be spent preparing & packing & loading the stuff to take "into town" for the yard sale. Our spot doesn't do well for yard sales, but my brother's house is the prime location!! We always get so many people dropping by!

Not too much more to report here for cycling or such. We are still on track to have all the money by the end of November (no loans!) for the fresh cycle. Hoping for at least 2 or 3 embabies for later.

We are still attending the MAPP (fostering) classes & enjoying them. Poking through the initial paperwork to become licensed, too.

Got some house work done this weekend. Since we're doing the yard sale, I'm trying to make sure to go through with a very objective eye to get rid of stuff I don't need/haven't used, etc. Pretty much clear out the house. I've gone through the guest room... the office is next, then the master bedroom (under the bed, ya know). I actually have space in my closet now... I've probably gotten rid of 150+ pieces of clothing in the last year (70 in the last month) & it feels good! Kind of liberating.

Other than that, just trying to stay positive about the IVF cycle coming up, checking blogs, going to class & work... fun stuff!

Hope everyone out there is doing well! :)

Am I The Only One That...

Doesn't put a Christmas tree up anymore?

I know that's kind of random, but I'm usually gung-ho about decorating for Christmas. But last year... I wasn't.

It just made me think of WHY I would decorate? We had no children to take cute pictures of with the tree or stockings? And it would just be a constant reminder that were no children in our house. At least for me.

Hubby didn't mind since he didn't really care. I told most other people it was just cuz we were both so busy (which we are... we both work full time & attend school part time) & didn't want to spend the time putting & taking down stuff.

Just hit me today, that I probably won't even be up to it. I've already asked for the week of Christmas off since that will be the week following the transfer, hopefully. If everything goes well with the cycle starting in December.

We are still continuing our MAPP (foster licensing intro class) & actually enjoying it. Got our 1st big stack of paperwork to complete. Did a page or two of it.

I also realized something in the bathroom yesterday... weird, but if I need a break from work or calls or an emotional moment... I go & sit in the bathroom. I can't be the only one, I know! When we 1st started this TTC business, I could never imagine myself pregnant. Like I could never imagine myself at my own wedding. Just a mental thing. But, yesterday, I could. I don't know if this will make it harder or easier if we can't get pregnant or if this will just push me harder to continue treatment instead of adoption.

Our final yard sale will be in 2 weeks. Already for $157 towards it. Should still make $400-$500 at the sale if all the furniture sells. Will help us better plan for IVF in December & whether or not we will have to dip into our emergency fund (which we do NOT want to do) to cover the IVF cycle. We have been blessed to be able to focus on savings & a bit of fundraising to not have to go into debt for this IVF#1.

One more note... My grandmother has been so sweet. We have become exponentially closer since I opened up to her about infertility. She is such a prayer warrior & get this... (makes me tear up JUST thinking about it), last December she told that she has a box set up for our baby. And every time she gets a $5 or $10 or $20 bill, she puts it in that box. She's already saved up $500 for our IVF cycle. She wants this baby as badly as we do & it just makes me feel so special thinking about that.

Updates

92 days until I start my stim shots for our 1st IVF. Next month we do the mock transfer, start BCPs, & get our meds, I guess? Or would that be in November?

We had our 1st MAPP class last night. Got to connect with a few of the couples & that was nice. We're still very interested in fostering. Although the home visits/studies, paperwork, references, etc seem very intimidating. I mean, how painful would it be to finally get to a point where adoption is your choice, then you are under scrutiny for everything about your house, location, church membership, family/friend relationships, etc.

I know, other people do it... you have to when you are adopting. But, it just seems to add more pain/frustration/insecurities to the mix.

Seems weird to think that people get pregnant if they "try", pop a baby out, & take them home without any outside help/ART/social workers, etc. Weird how infertility changes us.

In money news, we are over 63% at our needed funds for IVF. Kind of exciting. Our last major fund raiser (the 2nd yard sale) will be at the end of the month... assuming we don't have a hurricane come through that weekend. I've already been selling clothes, some DVDs & book, too. Got $144 already in "presales" for the yard sale. Here's to hoping we get $500+. I dare say $800-$1000. Mmm, that would be nice.